Grand Marionettist (3.5e Class)

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The word marionettist is a very broad term meaning one who uses puppets in battle. Each marionettist has vastly different puppets engineered with their own killing mechanisms, poisons, and abilities. The Grand Marionettist is one who takes this style to a new level, capable of fitting impossibly complex mechanisms into tiny frames, spending months or years developing the most incurable poisons, and attaining feats of skill and dexterity that other puppeteers dream of. They don't bother with the typical drama most other users of puppets deal with. The Grand Marionettist is the core of a non-living, unstoppable killing force and he is out to get his wishes be it through cleverness or through force.

Being a Grand Marionettist entails attaining a wide assortment of capabilities involving death dealing techniques. They are clever and dextrous characters that rival rogues in killing efficiency. But since they spend much of their time out of close-combat they usually are quite fragile and physically weak. Also, they are mostly limited to what their puppet can do so if an opponent figures out how to counter the puppet before the Grand Marionettist can defeat him the marionettist becomes easy to overcome.

Abilities:Intelligence and Dexterity are the most important abilities for any Grand Marionettist. He must be extremely clever to out-wit his opponents and very fast and dexterous to maneuver his puppets. Both attributes also matter greatly when creating and improving his puppets. While Constitution benefits all characters, it gives no additional help for a Grand Marionettist besides health. This is also true for Strength, Wisdom, and Charisma.

Races: Any puppeteer is limited by his number of hands so a race with more than two hands makes for a powerful Grand Marionettist at lower levels but all races tend to even out in power near the end. As for what race would most likely become a Grand Marionettist, they are masters of hiding in shadows while letting the puppets do the work so a stealthy or small race, such as Gnomes or Halflings, would be most likely but Humans and Elves are also viable.

Alignment: Any alignment suits a Grand Marionettist from the lawful good guardian to the neutral traveling mercenary to the chaotic evil psychopath killing people in the streets.

Starting Gold: 1d4×10 gp. Most of a Grand Marionettist's starting gold is spent putting together his first puppet.

Life Lines (Ex): A Grand Marionettist moves his puppets through invisible lines of energy. These lines cannot be sensed without a Detect Magic spell or some other like-wise ability. Once detected though, they can't be affected in anyway, only seen. As long as the lines are attached to a marionette it allows the Grand Marionettist to supply the puppet with move actions and standard actions. The Grand Marionettist must expend a move action to give a single puppet a move action and expend a standard action to give a single puppet a standard action.

Great Designer: A Grand Marionettist spends a lot of his time working on upgrading old marionettes, building new ones, or thinking up ideas for different mechanisms. The levels a Grand Marionettist achieves represent extensive work on these things and therefore enable the Grand Marionettist to advance his marionettes. Each level in the Grand Marionettist class grants him design points which are the limitation on how much the Grand Marionettist is capable of putting into a marionette he builds. See Table: The Grand Marionettist for how many design points are available at each level.

Craft Wondrous Item: The Grand Marionettist gains Craft Wondrous Item as a bonus feat at 1st level. This assists with the creation of his marionettes.

The Marionette: Each marionette is completely unique from most other marionettes and packed with incredibly deadly mechanisms. Below is the list of various building pieces the Grand Marionettist can use in his marionettes.

Body Parts Each body part may contain a certain number of internal mechanisms or redesigns. The typical shape of a marionette is a humanoid figure as big as the Grand Marionette. Any additional body parts such as a third arm or leg requires a certain number of design points to build on as well as material cost.

Other Appendage: Other appendages include tails, stingers, or any other such object. Other appendages may have one internal mechanism and/or one redesign as allowed by the DM.

Internal Mechanisms: An internal mechanism is, as it sounds, a complex device built on the inside of a piece to use up any extra room. They are highly deadly and diverse, meant to surprise an opponent and be reusable. Each internal mechanism can cost up to 3 design points, also known as dp.

Firing Mechanism: A device that fires some type of projectile. The complexity of the device determines its firing range.

Rank 1: 30 ft., 10 gp

Rank 2: 45 ft., 45 gp

Rank 3: 60 ft., 150 gp

Gas Release: A device that sprays a noxious cloud out enveloping an area around the puppet.

Rank 1: 10ft. radius, 10 rounds of gas, 10 gp

Rank 2: 20 ft. radius, 15 rounds of gas, 45 gp

Rank 3: 30 ft. radius, 20 rounds of gas, 150 gp

Spell Store: Can permanently store a spell for use once per day. Must pay a spell-caster to imbue the spell.

Rank 1: Max spell level 2, 10 gp

Rank 2: Max spell level 4, 45 gp

Rank 3: Max spell level 6, 150 gp

Hidden Weapon: A device that stores a hidden weapon that can quickly be drawn out for use or put away as a swift action. If the weapon is used the same round it is drawn that attack gets +2 to hit.

Rank 1: Dagger or smaller, 10 gp

Rank 2: Crossbow or smaller, 45 gp

Rank 3: Polearm or smaller, 150 gp

Coup de Grace: A mechanism designed to render a target helpless and deliver a coup de grace.

Rank 2: Torso, must trap the target within the hollow torso and may deliver a coup de grace on the following round, 125 gp

Redesigns: A redesign is a change to the physical design of how the piece functions such as improving the material, creating a more durable or flexible connector, or even removing as many unnecessary internal parts as possible. Each redesign can cost up to 3 design points, also known as dp.

Improved Strength: Improves the strength of the mechanisms moving the marionette providing a bonus to strength.

Rank 1: +2, 15 gp

Rank 2: +4, 75 gp

Rank 3: +6, 200 gp

Inhuman Agility: Focuses on the ability of the marionette to make inhuman bends and angles providing a bonus to dexterity.

Rank 1: +2, 25 gp

Rank 2: +4, 100 gp

Rank 3: +6, 300 gp

Unnatural Speed: Few creatures match a marionette's speed as it deftly moves across the battlefield with its light weight. This redesign may only be built in feet and legs.

Rank 1: +5' to move speed, 50 gp

Rank 2: +10' to move speed, 125 gp

Rank 3: +15' to move speed, 275 gp

Hardened Material: Researches in ways to harden the material of the marionette provide damage resistance.

Characters with ranks in <-the appropriate skills-> can research <-pluralized class name-> to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.